SheWolf
by JennyGranger
Summary: It was too late. She screamed as the beast’s jaws locked onto her lower leg, warm blood running down in scarlet colored rivers. She felt its claws scratch and tear at her body, ripping her clothes as it went. HBP Spoilers!
1. The Beast Prologue

Now I know you all are wondering why I'm posting so many new things when I have Concrete Angel to update. This story is just a plot bunny gone too far. I hope you enjoy it anyway. (I do not own anything but the plot)

_She-Wolf_

Chapter 1 – The Beast (Prologue)

She was running as fast as her legs would take her. She could here the beast snarling behind her as it got closer with every stride. She had to get to the castle before it got to her. She was so close. Only ten more steps. Five. Two. At last! She grasped the cold handle of the great oak doors, but it was too late. She screamed as the beast's jaws locked onto her lower leg, warm blood running down in scarlet-colored rivers. She felt its claws scratch and tear at her body, ripping her clothes as it went.

In one last attempt to get away from it, she managed to twist around and kick it full on the face. With a yelp, it let go of her in surprise, and she managed to slip through the doors before collapsing in the Entrance Hall.

She couldn't walk. She couldn't make it up to the hospital wing. She didn't know how much blood she had already lost, but she knew she couldn't afford to lose much more. She had to get help, but it was late at night. Nobody would be in the halls, and she would be dead by the time morning came.

Now weak, panting, and just fighting to stay conscious, she thought she heard footsteps. At first she wondered if they were imagined, but, as the darkness threatened to overcome her, she saw the blurred outline of someone, or at least something, coming toward her. Then she knew no more.

A/N:

I know. Short! I promise the next chapters will be longer. She is not dead. I don't want to ruin the suspense, so I will go now. TTFN


	2. The Blame Game

Thank you to the five of you who reviewed. I am aware that the first chapter made no sense, and was incredibly short, but I hope that didn't deter you from continuing. Now, on to the story, and remember, I own nothing. Also, HBP SPOILERS!

Chapter 2 – The Blame Game

'Where am I?' Hermione thought. Her eyes were closed, but she could tell there was a light on right above her. She wished someone would turn it off, so she could go back to sleep. She was awfully tired, and vaguely wished she could at least figure out where she was.

Then she heard the faint sound of voices. She couldn't understand what they were saying, but one of them sounded brisk and stern, as if they were scolding a student.

As Hermione's hearing returned back to normal (and perhaps a little better) she recognized the voice as McGonagall's.

"You do realize how serious this is?"

"Yes."

"And you realize that I could have you not only fired, but sent to Azkaban for this?"

"Yes, Headmistress."

'Wait a minute,' Hermione thought as she finally opened her eyes, but the light above her was blinding, so she shut them again and thought for a minute. She remembered going out last night to Hagrid's hut to help him with Fang, who had gotten ill, and then, while walking back to the castle….

Her eyes snapped open as everything came flooding back to her, including the pain in her leg. It felt like it was on fire! Wincing, she tried to move it into a position that might be less painful, but it wouldn't budge, so she eventually gave up.

Hermione jumped slightly when the hospital wing doors opened and Professors McGonagall, Lupin, and Madam Pomfrey came in. They stopped talking abruptly when they saw Hermione was awake. Lupin was the first to speak.

"Hermione, I am so sorry. I --"

"For what?" Hermione asked, causing Lupin to falter.

"What do you mean? Don't you remember what happened last night?"

"Of course I do, but what are you apologizing for? It's my fault. I was the one who was out that last on a full moon," Hermione said serenely, managing to pull herself up into a sitting position. She looked up at him, no regret at all on her face, but a silent fear bubbling up inside of her. What was going to happen to her?

"Hermione, don't you understand?"

"Yes, I do! I'm a werewolf! I know! I've known you for four years! I know what you go through."

"Then you know you will be shunned from society for the rest of your life?"

"Yes."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Yes," Hermione said, remaining as stubborn as ever, "because it's the people in society who will only see me for the beast I'll become once a month, and, yes, I know I'm dangerous, but just think. Did Sirius and James shun you aside when they found out you were a werewolf?"

"You know what?" Lupin said, exasperated, "I don't even want to have this conversation. I'll see you later."

He turned to leave, but McGonagall called him back.

"Remus, could you please fetch Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley? They'll want to know about this."

"Yes, ma'am," Lupin said, then turned and left.

"Well," Madam Pomfrey said, breaking the slightly uncomfortable silence, "you seem to know what's going on. Are there any questions that you do have?"

"Yeah," Hermione said, turning to McGonagall, "He's not really going to be sacked, is he? And what about me? Am I going to be able to finish school?"

"With you, I'm not the one who decides it. We have to send in to the Ministry that we have another werewolf. From there, it's Rufus Scrimgeour's decision. You may be able to graduate in eight months, or you could be sent to the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures tomorrow. There's really no way to tell. As for Remus, if you're allowed to stay, I want him here at least for your first transformation, to make things a bit easier for you."

Hermione didn't say anything, but looked away, her mind racing. She might not be able to graduate? And even if she could, she would have to hide what she truly was from the rest of the students. And what about Lupin? Even if _she_ could stay, he might get fired or maybe even sent to Azkaban. She just wished she could erase the last twenty-four hours.

Suddenly, the hospital wing doors banged open, knocking Hermione out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw frantic-looking Harry and Ron rushing towards her.

"Hermione," Harry panted as he came to a halt beside her bed, "Lupin told us to come down here, but he wouldn't tell us why. What's wrong?"

"Well," she started slowly, wondering how they were going to react, "you know how I was out late last night, helping Hagrid with Fang?" she paused to allow them to nod, "Well, I seemed to have forgotten that last night was a full moon."

"What's that have to do with anything?" Ron asked, looking usually clueless.

"Ron! Just think for once!" Harry said, annoyed at the fact that his friend couldn't even put two and two together, "Full moon, Hermione was out late at night," he paused, but just sighed and turned to Hermione when Ron continued to look clueless, "So, are you saying you got bit?"  
Hermione just looked up at him with nothing but fear painted in her chocolate eyes. Harry's worst fears were confirmed when she nodded.

"Oh, god," Harry whispered, distractedly running a hand through his hair, as he always did when he was stressed, while Ron seemed to have finally caught up with them.

"You mean you're a _werewolf_!" he asked, nearly screaming.

"Yes, Ron," Hermione said, finally looking away from Harry.

"When's the next full moon?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said, "I'll have to check whenever I get out of here."

"And do you know when that will be?" Harry asked, looking at Madam Pomfrey when Hermione shook her head.

"She will have to stay here at least until she can walk," Madam Pomfrey said, "Since magic can't heal werewolf bites, I'm sure that'll take quite a while."

"Can't I just use crutches?" Hermione asked.

"Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey said, suddenly stern, "I do not have time to meddle with silly Muggle remedies. Besides, how on earth are you going to navigate with those sticks in a school of a thousand people?"

"I never said I would go to my classes," Hermione said, "I'll just be in my dormitory with Harry, resting for as long as you want me to, but I'll still be able to get up and move around if I need to."

"Oh, very well," Madam Pomfrey said in defeat, "but I will be up there at least twice a day to change your bandages and administer a pain-relieving potion, and" she turned to Harry and Ron, "if you think you notice anything wrong, bring her straight to me. Fortunately, I think I do have a pair of crutches somewhere in my office. I'll go see if I can find them."

"How's Lupin taking this?" Harry asked, once the door to Madam Pomfrey's office closed behind her.

"Expectedly, he's blaming himself for this whole thing," Hermione said this as if she couldn't really care less.

"And, let me guess," Harry said, smiling at his friend's stubbornness, "You think you're to blame?"

"Well, yeah. I was the one who was out that late, not realizing it was a full moon. Being that stupid, I deserved to get bit."

"Hermione, you're far from stupid, and nobody deserves this. Honestly, I think you're both to blame. Lupin for not going to someone else when he knew Slughorn wasn't up to making his potion, and you for not realizing it was a full moon."

Hermione was about to say something else when Madam Pomfrey's office door opened, and she came out holding a pair of crutches.

"We'll probably have to shorten them for you," she said, laying them across the foot of Hermione's bed, "and you know I'm a little skeptical about using these Muggle contraptions, but I suppose they'll work well enough, at least until you can walk properly. You two," she suddenly shot at Harry and Ron, "help her stand up so that I can adjust these to the appropriate length."

After a minute of fighting with her still very painful leg, Hermione managed to get upright, with her right hand on Harry's shoulder and her left on Ron's, so she wouldn't fall over. Once Madam Pomfrey had the crutches adjusted, and Hermione was standing with them, she laid down some rules.

"You are not to leave your dormitory for anything. You may have Mr. Potter or Mr. Weasley bring you food. If you have any questions, have them notify me or Remus and we shall come to you as soon as we can. Are there any questions you have now?"

"Yeah," Hermione said, not looking at Madam Pomfrey until she asked, "What about my classes? Even a few days off, and I would fall behind, but now I'll be gone for, what? At least a week?"

"Well, what I would suggest doing is having Mr. Potter, since you two are Heads and share a dormitory, write down the assignments and hand them in for you. Your teachers will, of course, be notified of your condition, and will understand completely, and I hope you will as well, that you may have to miss a few days, or at least mornings, here and there."

"What about Arithmancy? Neither of these guys have it."

"You could try to catch up when your leg heals. Are there any other students in your house that are in Arithmancy with you?"

"Yes, but they aren't in my year."

"That doesn't matter. Just have somebody bring you the homework and hand it in for you. Anyway, you should probably head up to your dormitory now that the halls are clear. I'll contact your teachers," she added to Harry and Ron, "to explain why you are late."

"Don't bother," Harry said, "It's Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin'll understand."

"Still, I would feel better if I at least wrote you a note," Madam Pomfrey said, taking out a scrap piece of parchment and scribbling a quick note on it. Handing it to Harry she added, "Take Miss Granger up to her dormitory first and get her settled."

Harry nodded and the three of them turned and left the ward.


	3. Nighttime Thoughts

Chapter 3 – Nighttime Thoughts

_She sniffed at the night air, the full moon bright above her. Her ears pricked forward as she heard something crashing through the forest. Inhaling deeply, she caught the scent of her favorite prey; a human. Crouching low behind a bush, she watched as a branch almost directly in front of her was pushed forward and a tall, well-built teenage boy with jet black hair and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead that showed in-between his bang and stood out more than ever in the pale moonlight._

_She sniffed at him again, and decided she couldn't wait. With a low, thunderous growl, she pounced, hitting the boy's chest with her front paws, knocking him off his feet. But the force of the leap had carried her too far and she rolled off him. However she was to her feet sooner then him, and before he could stand, she pounced again, this time sinking her teeth deep into his shoulder, relishing the feeling of his warm blood running down her teeth, and having absolute pleasure in hearing him scream._

Hermione woke with a start, Harry's scream still ringing in her ears, and the coppery taste of his blood faint in her mouth. It was a minute before she realized that her blankets were wrapped around her like a straight jacket. After a few minutes, pausing occasionally as her leg was still very sore, she managed to get free, and when she pulled the blanket off, she shivered as the cold November air touched her sweat-soaked skin.

Looking at the clock, Hermione saw that it was almost three. She sighed and fell back down onto her pillow. In just a few hours, she would be going to her first class in a week and a half. Now, you would probably expect a bookworm like Hermione to be excited about this, and she was, but it would also mean seeing somebody that she hadn't talked to since she was in the hospital wing. Somebody who also had a direct tie into this whole fiasco.

Flashback

_Harry and Hermione were sitting in their private Head common room, Harry doing some last minute homework, and Hermione organizing what she would need for her classes tomorrow, since Madam Pomfrey told her to limit the time on her feet as much as possible._

_"What's the first class tomorrow?"_

_But instead of answering, Harry had a question of his own._

_"Are you sure you want to start classes _tomorrow_? I'm sure Madam Pomfrey would let you wait a few more days if you needed to."_

_"What's the first class?" she asked again with a don't-even-try look._

_"Defense Against the Dark Arts."_

End Flashback

As Hermione laid there, she could hear Professor Lupin's voice echoing in her mind, "_Hermione, don't you understand?... Then you realize that you will be shunned from society for the rest of your life?... And you're okay with that?..." _She had thought about this argument for a long time and had come to the conclusion that she wasn't okay with it. She knew she was a werewolf, and she accepted that, but she wasn't okay with pushing aside the only other person she knew who understood what she was going through. With a pang of guilt, she wondered if he was mad at her for what she had said.

'_No_,' she thought, '_He knows what it's like. I'm sure he could tell I just didn't want him to get sacked, and that I'm just stressed. I'm sure he understands_.'

With that, she pushed this problem to the back of her mind, and her thoughts wandered back to her dream. She had dreamt it many times before, and had just taken it for granted that it was all a part of becoming a werewolf, so she never thought twice about it, but tonight was different. Never before, had she seen the face of the person she was attacking, and never before had she felt such pleasure course through her body at the sound of their scream and the taste of their blood.

'_Maybe it's just because the full moon is getting closer_,' she thought. Tomorrow was Monday, and the full moon was a week from Thursday.

"But why was I attacking Harry?" she asked herself out loud, "Why Harry?"


	4. Defense Against the Dark Arts

I am so so sorry for the long wait. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's a little corny and not the best I've ever done in some parts, but I think it's still good. I hope you do as well. Enjoy!

Chapter 4 – Defense Against the Dark Arts

The next morning, Hermione woke up feeling as though she hadn't gotten any sleep at all. After a few minutes of just laying there and vaguely wishing the dull pounding in her right leg would go away, she managed to pull herself up to her feet. It seemed there was nothing in her head but the fog from the old crystal balls she detested to this day, as she limped to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

After getting dressed, she limped out into the common room where she found Harry, all ready and waiting for her.

"Good morning, Mione," he said cheerfully, getting a glare from her in response, "You okay? You don't so good. You sure you want to go to classes today?"

He had noticed she looked a bit peaky, and her eyes seemed almost glazed over. It took her a second to respond.

"Huh? Oh. Harry, I'm fine. Yes, I'm sure I want to go to classes today. I just didn't get much sleep last night, that's all. And you know how Lupin gets around the full moon. I imagine I get the same way."

Harry just smiled, and said, "Well, if you're sure --"

"Which I am."

"-- then I guess we had better get going, then."

Hermione smiled, which, to Harry, seemed to brighten up her features, and the two made their way down to breakfast.

"Hermione, where have you been?" Ginny Weasley asked when Harry and Hermione sat down opposite her and Ron at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, "Harry said you were sick, but --"

"I was sick," Hermione cut her off.

"For a week and a half?"

"Just drop it, please, Gin," Harry said, "I don't think she wants to talk about it just yet."

Hermione gave Harry a grateful look and felt her eyes being drawn towards the staff table. Scanning it, she saw most of the professors either looking down at their own plates or talking quietly to their neighbors. When she reached Lupin however, she found him looking straight at her. His face was quite expressionless (or at least it seemed to be from the distance she was away from him) and Hermione could only wonder what laid behind his eyes.

"Hermione?" Harry's voice came through her mind and broke her thoughts. She turned to look at him, "Are you all right? You seem a bit off today."

"I'm fine, Harry. I told you I'll probably be feeling a bit off for at least the next week or two," she said, with a quick glance towards Ginny, and Harry could tell, once again, that Hermione didn't want to talk about this right now.

"That long?" Ginny asked, looking from Hermione to Harry and back again, "What's wrong?"

"Look, Gin," Hermione said, not quite meeting her friends eye, and gesticulating nervously, "it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that, something has happened that has basically changed my life forever. I will tell you, but I think I just need to get used to it first."

Ginny was silent for a minute.

"Okay," she said, "I'm just worried about you. That's all, but if you don't want to talk about it, than I guess I'll stop bugging you."

"All right," Hermione said, nodding, then she turned to Harry, "We had better get going."

"Okay," Harry said, "If you're ready, let's go. Bye Ginny."

"See you later, Gin," Hermione said, grabbing her bag from underneath her seat and standing up.

Despite their leaving about ten minutes before everyone else, half of their DADA class was already assembled when Harry and Hermione arrived, and they had to wait less than a minute for the bell to ring.

"Hello, class," Professor Lupin said, as he came through the door a few minutes later and headed toward the front of the class a minute later, "Sorry, I'm a little late. I had some business to take care of," as he said this, Hermione had the feeling he avoiding her gaze on purpose, "Now, I finished grading your chimaera essays last night, so I guess I'll pass them out, to get that out of the way."

He took the stack of essays out of his old briefcase, and proceeded to hand them out. Hermione noticed that Lupin seemed keen not to make eye contact with her; not even when he handed back her essay (she had Harry hand it in for her). She supposed he didn't want to make it seem too obvious that there was something wrong with her, and that it was (to him) his fault.

Looking down at her essay, she saw a large _E_ written in black ink below her name. She went to put her essay away, but she noticed there was another, smaller, piece of parchment stuck to the back in a fashion similar to that of a muggle Post-It Note. Peeling it off, she saw it was a note:

_Hermione,_

_Please meet me in my office around_

_8:00 Thursday night for your first dose_

_of Wolfsbane Potion. You know how_

_important this is, so don't forget._

_We'll talk then._

_RJ Lupin_

Hermione stared at the note. "_We'll talk then._" Does that mean he's not mad at her, and wants to help her? Wait, of course he wants to help her. She looked up at him, now lecturing the class on how Chimaera eggs were Class A non-tradable goods, and if you were caught with one, it could mean up to three years in Azkaban (AN: I'm making most of this up), but Hermione was barely listening.

'_Of course he's not made at me_,' she thought, '_I've known him for four years, and he's said it himself (and it wasn't even to me, but I overheard him talking to Sirius), that I'm one of his favorite students. He wouldn't be mad at me. He just wants to help me. I'm sure of it_,' and she sat back and gave Professor Lupin her undivided attention.

After an hour of taking notes on the magical properties of chimaeras, the bell rang, and in the midst of the hustle and bustle of everyone putting away their things, Hermione finally managed to catch Lupin's eye, but she nodded, telling him that she understood the note, and will make sure she shows up at 8:00 Thursday night.

A/N:

Well, what do you think? I don't really care if you flame, I just care if you're honest. TTFN

PS: Just keep in mind that this will be an HHr fic, not a HrRL. If that is the pairing you read this story for, than I suggest you quit now. Happy Belated Thanksgiving!


	5. Wolfsbane

I am so so so so so sorry for the long wait. I have nothing else to say here, except I own nothing. Enjoy.

Chapter Five – Wolfsbane

Once Thursday rolled around, Hermione could definitely feel the wolf inside her trying to claw its way out. Even Harry could tell that there were many behavioral changes in her. Like being able to hear him coming when he's not even at the entrance to their Head dormitory.

By the afternoon, even Hermione noticed she couldn't seem to concentrate as they struggled through their last class of the day, Double Potions. Even when the bell rang, she still had three hours left until her meeting with Lupin (which would be the first time she'd spoken to him since Tuesday, as she didn't have DADA Wednesday or Thursday).

Knowing the time wouldn't move any faster no matter how much she willed it to, after dinner, Hermione just settleddown in her and Harry's common room with her homework. Soon she was surrounded by open books showing complicated rune translations and number charts, diagrams for turning a flamingo into a chair, and an essay with the ink still glistening about Lethifolds for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Mione?" Harry said after a while.

"Hmm?" Hermione said, not looking up, but continuing to fill out her number chart.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"There's a clock right over there, Harry."

"I know, but to _you_ know what time it is?"

Hermione, sighing exasperatedly, looked at her watch, gave out a yelp, and jumped to her feet. She only had five minutes to get to Lupin's office before she was late.

"Thanks, Harry" she said quickly, limping toward the portrait hole and stumbling through it, swearing under her breath.

It took her ten minutes to get down to the third floor, and shearrived just as Lupin was leaving.

"Ah, Hermione, there you are," he said spotting her, "I was just about to come and look for you."

"Sorry, I'm late, professor. I guess I just lost track of the time."

"Quite all right," Lupin said, reopening the door to his office, "Come on in, and sit down. You should give that leg a rest."

Hermione smiled gratefully and entered his office where she immediately spotted two steaming goblets full of a scarlet-colored potion. She sat down obediently (and thankfully), but Lupin still caught her eyeing the potions warily.

"Don't worry," he said, smiling, "they're harmless, though they might make you feel slightly sick since it's your first time, but this is one of the few things you get at least somewhat used to as a werewolf, though, I feel I must warn you, they taste awful," he said, causing Hermione to laugh a little at the face he made, "You may laugh, but just wait. Also, you have to be careful you don't drink it too fast until you get used to it, or it'll scorch your throat, much like a Pepper-Up Potion would. I learned that one the hard way. Well, cheers," he said, handing Hermione one of the goblets. She took it and nervously drank about half a gulp. Lupin wasn't kidding; it tasted nasty!

"What do you think?" Lupin asked, his goblet already a quarter of the way empty. Hermione didn't even have to answer; the look on her face was enough., "Pity sugar makes it useless, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," she managed to get out, before taking another tentative gulp.

Fifteen minutes later, both their goblets were empty, but still smoking slightly. Hermione was vaguely wondering whether the taste would ever leave her mouth as Lupin began digging in his desk.

"Something to wash down the taste," he said, tossing her a bottle of butterbeer. She opened it and started drinking it, as they proceeded into an uncomfortable silence.

"You know, I'm surprised at you, Hermione," Lupin said, after a minute, and Hermione looked straight into his amber-brown eyes, "You're taking this a lot better than I would have expected anyone to. Unless there's something I don't know," he added when she looked away from him.

"I'm not taking this as well as you think I am," she said, still not looking at him.

"I know," Lupin said with an understanding smile, as Hermione looked up at him in surprise, "I figured this was all a cover when I went down to the library last week to find half the books on werewolves gone," he said, causing her to look away from him and a light pink blush to form on her cheeks. Then, his face darkened a little, "but just know that no book can tell you what it is really like. Even I have difficulty explaining it, and I have been a werewolf for thirty years. But I can tell you that the transformation is something you never get used to; every month is as painful as the last, even with the Wolfsbane Potion," he looked at Hermione (who had been hanging on his every word) with somber eyes, "I never meant to transfer this curse to anybody, especially one of my students. I know you don't think this is my fault, Hermione, but I am so so sorry, and I just want you to know that if you have any questions, or just want to talk, I'm here."

There was a pause and Lupin could almost here the gears in Hermione's head spinning. She finally voiced what he had been feeling since his talk with McGonagall three weeks previous.

"Everything's riding what's going to happen next week, isn't it?" she asked in a small voice. It took Lupin a minute to respond.

"Yes," he finally said, "which is why we need to be extra vigilant, and try to eliminate all things that could cause something to go wrong. In fact, just to make sure you can graduate in June, we'll have to be extra careful until the end of the year."

Hermione nodded slowly, knowing that there was a lot of weight on her shoulders, no matter how much Lupin tried to take off.

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There you have it. The long-awaited chapter five. Just a note on how I figured out how long Remus has been a werewolf, for those who want to know I know we have never been given the exact age he was bitten, just when he was a small boy, so I just put it at eight. So I took twenty-one (how old he was when Harry was born) minus eight and got thirteen. Then I took thirteen plus seventeen (how old Harry is now) and got thirty. Just a little side-bar. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to Review! Please.


	6. Eyes of the Wolf

Well, here's chapter 6. Sorry about the wait, but I had to type this off the top of my head, while the rest of the chapters I had prewritten before I posted them, plus I was at camp for three weeks, so I had to rest for a few days. Plus, school has started again, and, well, long story short, sorry for the wait, and I will no longer keep you waiting. Just remember, I own nothing but the plot.

Chapter Six -- Eyes of the Wolf

Fifteen minutes later, they had finished their butterbeers and Hermione decided she had better get going so she could get some rest.

"Just don't forget to come tomorrow night," Lupin reminded her, "and do try to come on time."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Hermione said a little sheepishly, "Well, see you tomorrow, professor. Good night."

"Good night, Hermione," Lupin said, holding the door as she limped out the door and down the hallway.

Ten minutes later, Hermione uttered the password to her and Harry's dorm ("Golden Griffin"), and clambered inside, noticing that Harry had fallen asleep in the old armchair in front of the fire, presumably trying to wait up for her.

Not wanting to disturb him right away, she began to clear the table of her work, but it wasn't long before she heard her name. Figuring Harry had awaken, she asked him, "What?" but when she got no response, she looked up at him, and immediately felt a tug in her chest.

She knew Harry still suffered from nightmares; she had heard him rolling around in his bed before, but she had never witnessed it. She watched as his toes were scuffing the ground as if he were trying to run away from, or towards, something, and his arms and hands were twitching almost compulsively. She felt her eyes being drawn to his face, and she saw his eyes screw up before relaxing, but tensing almost right away again.

"No… Hermione…. Please, don't…. No, please..." he whispered as she got up and limped toward him, kneeling down next to the chair and shaking his shoulder.

"Harry," she said softly but firmly, "Harry, wake up. It's all right. It's just a bad dream. Come on, Harry, wake up," she continued to talk to him while shaking his shoulder a little harder.

After a minute, his bright green eyes snapped open and scanned the room quickly before locking with the caramel ones still watching them with concern.

"Hermione," he breathed, breathing deeply and looking away from her in an effort to calm himself down.

"Are you all right?" Hermione asked, trying to get him to look back at her.

"Fine," he said a little too quickly to be believable, "Just a… bad dream."

"About me?"

"How'd you know?" he said, locking eyes with her once more. She smiled kindly before responding.

"You talk in your sleep."

"Oh," he said, noticeably embarrassed, "I'm sorry."

"You've nothing to be sorry for," she said, ignoring the cries in her head, and reaching out to stroke his cheek.

Harry's heart jumped at the softness of her hand on his face and the look of innocence in her eyes. It reminded him of when he first saw her on the train six and a half years ago. She had obviously grown up since then, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but growing up with him had taken its toll on her; her eyes almost had a constant look of worry in them. Worry about him.

"Harry?"

He jumped at her voice and realized that he had been staring.

"Huh?"

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he said, turning away from her captivating eyes, "yeah, I'm fine. I just need some sleep. If you're okay, then I'm just going to go to bed."

"I'm fine; it's you I'm worried about, but if it's just sleep you need, then you best go now," she said, gently, wishing she could once more gaze into those enchanting green eyes of his. She could see everything from worry and fear regarding everyone who might fall victim to the Dark Lord to the innocence she saw on the train six and a half years ago. How she would love to be able to get herself lost in those bottle green orbs for hours.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Huh?"

Harry's voice pulled her out of her daze with a slight bump.

"I said are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. You just… go to bed. I'm going to stay out here for a few more hours and finish my homework," she said, pulling herself to her feet.

"Hermione, you should probably go to bed, too. Come on," Harry said, before she could protest, and standing up beside her, "you most likely need it more than me. You know you do. Besides, it's almost ten o'clock. Go to bed. Please? You can finish your homework tomorrow."

"But --"

"No buts. You know you need sleep. What's wrong?"

She had looked away from him, biting her lip nervously. She had had another nightmare last night where she was attacking Harry, but it was worse than the previous ones; this one had lasted longer and she had actually killed him.

"Nothing," she said quickly, mentally shaking herself out of her stupor.

"Yes, there is," Harry said, taking her hands and rubbing them consolingly, "You can tell me, Hermione. What is it?"

Deciding she couldn't hide it from him any longer, she just said, "You aren't the only one who suffers from nightmares anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Because of my lycanthropy, and because the full moon is so near, I have nightmares of when I'm a wolf and I'm attacking… someone. Someone that I care about greatly. Last night I actually killed them," she said in almost a monotone, not looking Harry in the eye, and fighting to keep the tears at bay, but that was nearly impossible after Harry spoke.

"That someone… is me, isn't it?"

Hermione could only nod, as a few tears escaped, surprising Harry, but he wrapped his arms around her, nonetheless.

"Why are you crying? We both know that's not going to happen."

"I know," she choked out, wiping her tears on his shoulder, "but the feelings I get while it's all happening makes me feel so guilty. I hate feeling like I'm enjoying it."

"But that's just the wolf in you. We both know that you would never try to hurt me, let alone kill me," Harry stopped and looked down at her. When he saw that what he had said hadn't stopped her tears, he said, "How about this?" he proposed, pushing her away slightly, so they could look each other in the eye, "If you have another nightmare, come to me."

"But -"

"No buts. Just come and wake me up. I won't care. Just come to me long enough to make certain you haven't killed me," Harry said, cracking one of his famous lopsided grins, which Hermione had to return. She nodded, though with slight hesitation, but still with some confidence.

"All right," Harry said, taking his hands off her shoulders, "why don't we go to bed? Come on," he added, catching her almost longing look toward her books laying on the table, "you need to relax. You stress yourself too much. Just go to bed, and I'll let you do all the homework you want on Sunday."

"Sunday? What about Saturday?"

"Saturday's the Quidditch game, and don't you want to see you're two best friends in the first game of the year?" Harry said, with a very fake pout.

"Yes, but that's only an hour, maybe two."

"Just go to bed, Mione. Either way, we have classes tomorrow, and we should both get some rest."

"All right," she said, giving in to his eyes once more, "Night."

"G'night. And remember what I said about your nightmares," Harry called as she turned to enter her dormitory. She gave a little wave to signal that she had heard him and entered her dorm. Harry just sighed and went to bed.

At about 3 AM, Hermione woke up in a cold sweat and panting. This nightmare had been one of the worst yet. She felt a few hot tears mingle with the cool perspiration lingering on her cheeks as her mind remembered what had happened.

_Her nose twitched as she caught the scent of a prey she had grown accustomed to. It was him. Her human half screaming for her to stop and the dream to end, but it was the wolf in charge of the body, as she crouched in a thick bush, waiting. Finally, he walked in front of her, and her ears pricked. With a thunderous growl, she pounced and caught him completely off guard. Sinking her teeth into his shoulder, he screamed and fell as she relished the warm feeling of the blood running through her teeth._

_Growing tired of his screaming, she removed her teeth from his shoulder and went for the throat. One bite and it was all over; everything was silent. Blood was everywhere, mixed in with his raven-black hair and staining his dark blue tee._

Hermione was now crying so hard, she knew that Harry would hear her if he woke up. She hated herself for the dreams and what she felt during them. She worked hard to get the ever-so-faint coppery taste of blood from her mouth, but it wouldn't budge. She silently cursed the moon shining innocently silver through her window.

She took a deep breath to steady her tears, before she stood up, goose bumps rising on her arms and legs at the November air. She wanted desperately to go to Harry, but it was half past three in the morning, and she didn't know how he would react to being awaken. She remembered his words from last night, but it's always different when you're actually waking them up.

However, another flashback of the dream was enough to get her to go out to the Head dorm common room, and up to Harry's door. Hesitating only a second, she gently pushed it open, almost turning back around when she saw he was awake.

"Hermione? Come here," he said softly, sitting up in bed. She obeyed, walking over to him, trying to keep her tears at bay as she sat down on the edge of the bed, a good three feet from him. He smiled and said, "You can come closer. I won't bite. Sorry," he apologized at his use of words, "Come here," he said, reaching over and gently tugging on her pajamas at the shoulder.

She scooted closer and closer to him with his unrelenting prompting. Eventually, he was able to wrap his arms around her, and, to his surprise, she snuggled closer to him when he did.

"Hey," he said softly, "It's all right. I'm right here," he whispered, rocking her back and forth. She tried to steady the oncoming tears, but wasn't having much luck, "I'm right here," he repeated, "and I'll never leave you. I promise."  
Hermione eventually couldn't hold her tears back any longer, but Harry only responded by pulling her closer to him, allowing her to cry into his shoulder as he rocked her back and forth, inhaling her scent and, without even realizing it, falling in love.

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Well, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed it, and I will try to have the next chapter up by Christmas, or at least the New Year. Just know that I will never abandon any of the stories that I post. Well, R&R please. TTFN


	7. What NotePassing Can Lead To

Well, I guess here's chapter seven. Sorry for the wait. My computer is being a butt and it wouldn't let me save to a disc, so I had to get that figured out, and…. Wait, I really don't think you guys want to hear my excuses, do you? Just go read the chapter, but keep one thing in mind: I own nothing.

Chapter Seven -- What Note-Passing Can Lead To

The next morning, Harry woke up to a shifting movement beside him. Looking down, he saw a blurred mass of brown, and the memories of the previous night came flooding back to him. He smiled when he realized Hermione must have slept with him for the rest of the night.

Carefully, he reached over her sleeping form for his glasses and watch, a quick look at which told him he had a few minutes to spare before having to wake Hermione up.

Upon placing his glasses over his eyes, he was able to see Hermione clearly. Her hair was a mess, and her mouth was slightly open, causing her to drool a little (Harry nearly laughed when he noticed this), but he thought she had never looked more beautiful. He just stared at the dozing girl before him, taking in every sight from her stomach rising and falling in time with her light breathing to the faint freckles traveling across the bridge of her nose.

At this point, Hermione rolled over onto her stomach, and groaned, not wanting to leave this warm bed. But, hang on. This didn't smell like _her_ bed. A low , almost puppy-like, whimper escaped her throat when she realized that she must have fallen asleep with Harry after coming to him during the night. Harry, hearing this whimper, reached out and ran a hand through her soft hair, being careful with the few morning snags he hit.

She looked up in response to his touch, a light pink blush on her cheeks. Her lips were slightly parted in an almost wary look. Harry suddenly felt a strong desire to kiss her.

"Good morning," he said as she sat up slowly, relaxing a little, "Sleep well?"

"I'm sorry," she said expectedly, "I shouldn't have slept here."

"It's all right," he said, noticing for the first time how cute she looked when embarrassed, "I didn't mind, but we should probably get up now."

"Yeah," Hermione said, looking like she was trying to decide on something as they stood up.

Without warning, she threw her arms around Harry, slightly nuzzling his shoulder. At first, he thought she had started crying again, but she soon pulled back, placing a light kiss on his cheek about a half inch from his lips as she did so.

"Thank you, Harry."

She then turned and left his room, leaving him rooted to the floor, not quite sure what just happened.

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For the rest of the day, Harry noticed he seemed to not be able to concentrate in class as well as normally. However, he found himself staring at Hermione for the length of the class. Every little thing she did, he found himself fascinated with, and when she was out of his sight, even if it was just to go to the bathroom, he worried about her. He knew she was all right in the back of his mind, but, consciously, he worried about her all the same. Come lunch, he didn't know how he was supposed to get through the rest of the day.

"Harry? Hello? Anyone home?"

"Huh?"

"Come on. Lunch is over. We have to get to class."

"Oh. Right."

He stood up and followed Hermione out of the Great Hall, forgetting momentarily where they were going as he watched her dark curls bouncing as she walked at a swift pace, not wanting to be late. He didn't want to ask her which class they had, because he knew she would start asking him if he was all right, and he could honestly say he did not know the answer to that question. However, she led him to the History of Magic classroom before his brain could process that his feet had carried him up two floors.

They sat down at their regular table just as the bell to signal the start of class rang out. Professor Binns drifted through the chalkboard and started droning on about vampire legislatures. After only five minutes, Harry's mind was once again drifting to Hermione. He looked to his left at her and received a shock. She was not taking notes like normal, but sitting with her head down on her arms, staring at Binns with a faraway look in her yellowing eyes. Harry smiled as he remembered the morning when Hermione had woken up and finding out that her brown eyes were changing color. Knowing it was a side effect of her lycanthropy, she had spent a half hour flipping through all the werewolf books to find out what was wrong with her. She eventually gave up with the books and went to talk to Professor Lupin, who had told her that it was just a sign that the full moon was near.

"All werewolves show small physical signs when their transformation is getting nearer." he had said, "The yellow in your eyes will go away a few days after full moon."

"I've never noticed any signs with you," Hermione said, looking inquisitively at Lupin.

"Well, mine would be something that nobody else would hardly notice," he answered, smiling slightly, "My canine teeth get sharper. It hurts like the devil if I end up biting my tongue."

Hermione had come back to the Head Dorm happier to know that it was a natural occurrence, but worried at what everyone else would think. Much to her satisfaction, however, nobody had questioned her about it.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Hermione nudging his elbow. He looked over and she slid a small bit of parchment over to him. He flipped it over and read: _What are you thinking about? History of Magic is not that funny, even to me._ He had to choke down a small laugh before he responded, and sent the note back her way. She flipped it and read: _Since when do you not take notes?_ She let out a breath that sounded like a whispered laugh before she wrote her answer: _This is more fun. Besides, lycanthropes often have trouble concentrating when their transformation is near. I guess I'm no exception. And you didn't answer my question._ Harry mock rolled his eyes at the fact that he always thought she would always be able to concentrate, no matter what strange thing happened to them. He dipped his quill in his ink pot before writing: _All right. I was thinking about your eyes._ Now a little apprehensive at what her answer would be now that it was on paper, he hesitated a second before handing it over to her. She glanced at him with a questioning look in her eyes before writing only two words: _My eyes?_ He swallowed nervously but was spared of answering when the bell rang. They grabbed their bags and were out in the hall before Hermione restarted the conversation.

"So… what about my eyes?" she asked in what Harry could only think of as a flirting tone. He was suddenly very hot.

"Just… umm… how they're… changing. I was remembering that morning when we found out they were turning yellow."

"Uh huh," she said in a way that clearly told him she didn't trust his sincerity, before turning away from him, "I'll see you after Arithmancy."

Before he could blink she had placed another peck on his cheek and was gone.

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Well, that took me the better of three hours to write (and three weeks to post :P). I know Hermione is kinda OoC, but I hope you enjoyed it. R and R, please. TTFN


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